By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter

A King County District Court judge set bail at $1 million each for two men who are suspects in the fatal shooting of Everett Williams early Monday in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood, which police say was possible retaliation for an earlier shooting.

Tomas “Alex” Berhe, a 31-year-old Shoreline man, allegedly threatened to “take care of business” if he saw Williams, a 21-year-old whom Berhe accused of shooting his cousin, according to the probable-cause statement outlining the Seattle police against the men.

The probable-cause statement also says co-defendant Elijah Washington, 21, of Seattle, allegedly knew Berhe was armed and planned to shoot Williams; he is accused of driving Berhe from the crime scene.

On Tuesday, Judge Mark Chow found probable cause to hold Berhe on investigation of first-degree murder, saying it appears Berhe had a motive. Chow also found probable cause to hold Washington on investigation of being an accessory to first-degree murder.

Around 12:20 a.m. Monday, several people called 911 to report a shooting in an alley west of the 2200 block of Franklin Avenue East, with at least one witness reporting that the shooting suspect left the scene in a black Chevrolet Impala, the statement says.

When officers arrived, they found Williams unconscious in the front passenger seat of a white Lexus with gunshot wounds to his face, arms and body. He later died at the scene. Police found a loaded .380-caliber pistol in Williams’ pocket and four .45-caliber casings on the ground outside the car, the statement says.

A second man who was with Williams suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm and was taken to Harborview Medical Center, it says.

A couple of officers heard a radio broadcast describing the black Impala and a suspect so they waited at a nearby onramp onto Interstate 5 to see if they could locate the car, the statement says. They spotted the vehicle and front-seat passenger matching the gunman’s description, followed the car to the James Street exit and, with the help of other officers, pulled it over near the corner of Yesler Way and Broadway, according to the statement.

Detectives found a .45-caliber handgun loaded with at least one live round that matched markings on casings found at the shooting scene, the statement says.

Detectives also learned that on Sunday, before the shooting, Berhe and Washington went to the Bite of Seattle at Seattle Center, then drove to Green Lake Park, the statement says. While at the park, Berhe allegedly told Washington that Williams had shot his younger cousin and he was planning “on getting revenge by shooting Williams,” something he’d been planning for several days, according to the statement.

After meeting up with some other friends to attend a party on a houseboat, Berhe allegedly said he would “take care of business” if Williams showed up at the party, the statement says.

He then directed Washington to drive to a convenience store in Eastlake, where Washington went inside to buy a drink, it says. While inside the store, Washington heard “2 or 3 pops,” and when he returned to the parking lot, he saw no one but the injured man, and drove away, the statement says.

He saw Berhe walking on Eastlake Avenue East and picked him up shortly before police pulled the black Impala over, it says.